Highly reactive solids, liquids, and gases are used for a wide range of operations involving the treatment, cleaning, sanitizing, and decontaminating of porous and nonporous surfaces, liquids, and local gaseous environments. Often, a very concentrated form of the reactive treatment agent is used to prepare lower concentration solutions for use in the operation. Additionally, materials in related forms are used to improve food and beverage quality, and even to prepare nutritional supplements. Further, applicators or substrates are often used to introduce the highly reactive treatment agents to the gas, liquid, or solid, that is undergoing treatment.
While there are many highly reactive gas, liquid, and solid treatment agents which are used in independent fashion, it is customary to prepare multi-component compositions for direct introduction into a fluid or onto a surface. One of the most often used class of reactive treatment agents is oxidizing agents. These agents are available in solid, liquid, and gas forms. Exemplary oxidizing agents include peroxides, peracids, percarbonates, persulfates, dissolved halogenated compounds, and reactive gases such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and oxygen. Another class of highly useful treatment agents includes natural and synthetic minerals, adsorbents, and resins with varying surface properties. Often times these agents can be colloids, precipitates, and particulates of nanometer dimensions. Agents in these classes are often mixed with adjunct agents to form complex solutions. Adjunct agents can be used to modify solution parameters and to provide indication of solution properties. Exemplary adjunct agents include minerals, surfactants, foam control agents, wetting agents, solubility agents, flocculating agents, biocides, and gases. Often, synergy between formulation components can be obtained.
In many operations the use of applicators, substrates, of combinations thereof facilitates the use of reactive treatment agents. Suitable substrates include adsorption and absorption materials, woven and nonwoven materials, porous materials and supports, and solid elements which allow manipulation of substrates which contains the active treatment agents.
It is well understood that many different types of surface bound and dissolved contaminants exist in a variety of situations found in residential, industrial, medical, and military fields, and that many different reactive agents and treatment formulations are required to successfully address all contaminant types. It is also well understood that treatment operations of all types are more successful when freshly prepared reactive treatment agents are used. As a result, small volume batches of reactive agents are prepared in order to treat both chemical and biological contaminants. Batches of reactive treatment agents are prepared frequently through dissolution, dilution, activation, or a combination thereof of a highly concentrated form of the reactive treatment agent, and formulations which contain these agents.
While repetitive preparation of fresh highly reactive treatment agents is optimal for the treatment operation it also increases the hazards to personnel and equipment. Training and experience are thus required for use of many highly reactive agents. Unfortunately, these issues frequently limit the widespread use of many highly efficacious reactive treatment agents.
The instant invention discloses devices in the form of thin film packages and molded plastic components which facilitate the simple, safe, economical, and reagent efficient generation and containment of reactive treatment agents. The disclosed devices further provide a safe and controlled method for applying the instantly prepared treatment agents to surfaces and fluids for the reduction of contaminants and the introduction of beneficial agents to fluid systems.
Exemplary reactive treatment agents of the invention include complex mixtures containing, oxidizing agents, reducing agents, colloids, surfactants, acids, bases, metal precipitates, and adjuncts such as foam control agents, viscosity modifiers, surfactants, thickeners, and solution stabilizers.
Devices of the invention can not be used as filters, as they function by delivering reactive treatment agents onto surfaces or into fluids without the bulk transfer of the contaminated fluid undergoing treatment into or through the device. Since the ability to pass bulk gas, water or other aqueous liquids containing contaminants through the device is not present, devices do not reduce fluid contaminants by filtration mechanisms. This predefined system feature is highly advantages and allows these devices to be applied in a very wide range of environments, including extreme environments such as underwater and in small spaces.